Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'll get to the point. Should I trust the wafer thermostat or turn it all the way up and put a Helix inline and let that control the temp?

Thanks!
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"Umm Marge, did you find my snake farm? I'm going to farm and sell snakes"- homer simpson

I did exactly that (separate controller) and used the wafer thermostat as an extra high-temp cutoff just in case. However, it is up to you. Wafer thermostats are simple and fairly durable. If your Hovabator wafer thermostat unit is new and you don't need to hold perfect temps (colubrid eggs for example can withstand varying temps) then a separate controller is not necessary. If on the other hand the wafer thermostat has seen years of use, either replace it or use a separate controller. If you need to hold very tight temps, a separate controller will deliver.

It is for jungle carpet python eggs, I don't know how tolerant they are of temp fluctuations as I have never bred them before. The hovabator is brand new. I think what I'll do is set it up now (I have a few weeks til egg time) and put a digital thermometer in there to record the high/low variances. If it's more than 2 or 3 degrees I'll get a helix. Thanks for the advice.

:O)
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"Umm Marge, did you find my snake farm? I'm going to farm and sell snakes"- homer simpson

Make sure to put it in a room that is pretty temp stable. Also when you run your test put in the containers just like if your eggs were in with them. I've found with the Hovabators that this helps stabalize them and you won't see too much fluctuation (should be a degree or two in either direction). If you plan on doing this more than just this one time, take some money off of the babies you sell and buy a better thermostat for the unit though.

Sean
Heart Mountain Herps

I've been using the same wafer thermostat and snap switch in my homemade incubator for over 20 years. Yeah, I know. Crazy. But it's hatched many, many pythons. One of these days I'll get around to changing that thermostat.

-Joan

I can't wait til I can say I've been incubating eggs for 20 years! Older herpers probably envy the young herpers enthusiasm and the young herper envies the older herper's experience.
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"Umm Marge, did you find my snake farm? I'm going to farm and sell snakes"- homer simpson